By
Heinz Fischer-Lichtental

Munich, Germany

Fundamental Considerations

An alchemist is a peculiar man, a lone wolf, possibly with a pointed medieval magician's hat. He vegetates in an attic where it smells like sulphur. Surrounded by an agglomeration of laboratory utensils, he maintains a continuous fire on which different unsavory mixtures are brewed. And all of this to make gold!

So much for the surprisingly still existing stereotype of an alchemist. It has been transmitted to a large extent by the tradition which is based on the medieval Dr. Faustus and his contemporaries. Furthermore, this view seems to be confirmed by the enlightenment that took place since the beginning of modern chemistry and in the charmingly-tender to contemplative-romantic casts in the paintings by Karl Spitzweg.

The rather meager education and information of past centuries did not enable most people to differentiate between charlatanry and serious alchemistical activity. Also, the powers of the former absolute rulers endangered the freedom of the genuine adept by the attempts to force him to live in complete dependence of and to perform undesirable services for a ruling potentate or to be subjected to much persecution. This explains the fact that the majority of the handed-down alchemistical writings were published either anonymously or under a pseudonym. Furthermore, the trend had already been established by the Arabs and Alexandrians to express themselves in allegories and to embellish their subjects of discussion. The abundance of traditions makes it impossible to penetrate the thicket. All we can hope to do is to establish a historical leitmotiv at the surface of events.

The prevalent contemporary view of alchemy and its essential features has been derived from that of the sciences of the 18th and 19th centuries. It was then that the separation of alchemy and chemistry took place which has been perpetuated to the present. The common point of view is that alchemy can be nothing else but a remnant of medieval superstition and mental obscureness when contrasted to the exact science of chemistry. Such a belief is of course understandable.

For centuries the charlatanries of defrauding speculators dominated the public scenes in Europe. The seriously and also scientifically working alchemists operated almost exclusively outside of the public view. As the belief in alchemy finally became obscure, the attacks upon it became less strong and specific achievements by certain alchemists in the science of chemistry found recognition and their belief in alchemy was tolerated. However, the chasm of misunderstanding which had been formed seemed to remain irreconcilable.

The genuine alchemists not only held on to the theory that all manifestations are based on a primary substance but also that the transmutation of matter from one form into another one is in principle possible. As far as application is concerned the pointed question remains to the present day: "Is it or is it not possible to transmute common metals into gold or silver?" Alchemists have continued to answer this question resolutely with YES. Chemists, on the other hand, had to continuously modify their position in the light of expanding chemical-physical knowledge that gold can be produced synthetically. Also, the newer insights that the single atom does not represent the ultimate indivisible building block of matter fully endorse the correctness of the alchemistical hypothesis but not its processes of application. It is herein where to the present day and age the differences are to be found.

During the Middle Ages the concepts of alchemy and chemistry were inseparable. The basic literal meaning of both words is the same. Only the addition or omittance of the syllable al differentiates their style of writing.** It is a fact that the science of alchemy contained the field of theoretical and applied chemistry. This included the production of metal alloys, the making of glass, pearls, and of artificial gems, the coloring of textiles, and the preparations of medications and cosmetics as well as the distillation of aromatic and alcoholic liquids. This development once started with the simple process of mixing and smelting, However, because alchemy was resting on scientific theories it went beyond the purely practical and in a certain sense mechanical manufacture based upon handed-down practical knowledge. But even in the light of this discussion alchemy has not been done full justice. In Its more profound sense it represents a practical natural philosophy.
It represents not only a longing for the understanding of what essentially holds the world together but also an orientation of one's life according to recognized principles.

This attitude, in turn, resulted in a close connection to religion. According to the moral maturity of the individual personalities involved, one encounters of course all imaginable variations, from the desire of harmony with the will of God to the purely egotistical point of view, from the pure desire for knowledge to greed and the most brutal exercise of power.

To inquire about the origins of alchemy implies to go back to the beginning of creation. Anchored in the latter it represents a functional law of nature and eventually penetrated the consciousness of thinking, observing, and also lonely men. In the course of eternal evolution the insight evolved not only to a laboratory practice but also to a Weltanschauung which we call in its narrow sense alchemy.

We are tied to historical standards which lie outside our daily lives. According to contemporary science our earth is about five billion years old. But only a very minute part of this unimaginable long time span has exhibited human life. Still, men have existed since a million years ago. About 30,000 - 40,000 years ago, man has already lived in Europe, i.e., before the last great ice age, These people-friends of alchemy take note of this-were versed in a smelting process of enamel. Maybe they were more interested in it per se, as a leisurely preoccupation, or liked the colorful gloss. Also, the forerunners of our present coins, the so-called rainbow dishes, which were only recently thought of as being of celtic origin and therefore of an earlier vintage, date from them. These dishes are small leaves of pure gold, indented at the center and resembling a tiny dish, engraved with figures reminding one of animal heads and bodies or which have to be viewed as other symbolic depictions. It therefore follows that the metal must have already been known which later was to play a crucial and also fateful role in the history of alchemy.